|
Although the Temple in Jerusalem has not stood since 70 AD, the ritual of “S’firat HaOmer”-the counting of sheaves for forty nine days from Passover to Shavuot has remained intact until today. As with the two other Festivals of the year (Sukkot and Pesach), Shavuot has an agricultural and pilgrimage component. In order to give thanks to God for an abundant barley harvest, our ancestors made the trek each year in the Hebrew month of Sivan to the Temple in Jerusalem, bringing with them the first fruits/the first of their barley harvest as an offering.
In a historical, peoplehood sense, Shavuot (meaning “weeks”) was the time of the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. We were all there, as is stated in the Book of Deuteronomy 29:9 to receive the Torah- a living, breathing “roadmap” and ethical guide for our lives, now that we were a newly freed and liberated people. To live in a free society, there must be some constraints- a set of rules and laws. To have security, stability and harmony among all of God’s creations, there must be a solid structure, a moral framework in which people can live and thrive. Furthermore, the laws must apply to all, not just the few. Moses and the Priestly caste are not immune from what was transmitted on that mountaintop-they too must comply with God’s law.
Concerning the counting of the Omer, the Torah states in Leviticus 23:15-16,
“You shall count from the eve of the second day of Pesach, when an Omer of grain is to be brought as an offering, seven complete weeks. The day after the seventh week of your counting will make fifty days, and you shall present a new meal offering to God.” To go from having a slave mentality to being a free person with autonomy takes time, healing and reflection. I imagine those Israelites journeying through the wilderness for those forty-nine days after leaving Egypt, shedding one more chain each day, one more sigh, one more memory of the heartache of their enslavement. The wisdom of the Torah is clear. For seven weeks our once oppressed ancestors had a chance to begin to reclaim their power, their sense of self worth, and experience what it meant to be part of a Kehillah Kedoshah (a holy community). The counting of the Omer gave the children of Israel time to undergo a dramatic transformation and shift in consciousness. Only then could they be in a state of mind and heart to receive the sacred Torah.
The Kabbalists saw the time of the counting of the Omer between Passover and Shavuot as an opportunity for personal growth and spiritual refinement. You might think of it as a “mini” High Holy Days. Interestingly enough, in this week’s Torah portion “Acharei Mot” we read about the instruction for a Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) which is still six months away. The process of transformation, self examination and spiritual purification, is one that surely takes time and meaningful attention. Perhaps the Torah is telling us that it is never too early to begin the process. On that note, we are proud to be hosting a TIKKUN LEIL SHAVUOT- a program of Torah study, worship and discussion on Tuesday, June 11th from 7-9 pm in collaboration with four Westchester Temples. This evening of study will be led by Dr. Alyssa M. Gray, the Rabbi Bernard H. Mehlman Chair of Rabbinics at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. We hope you will join us for what promises to be a most enriching and enlightening program.
In song on this ninth day of the Omer,
Warmly,
Cantor Rita
| 
